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her hands over her face and tried to slow down her breathing. Then a sudden ear-piercing crack filled the car and the window next to Fay smashed, showering glass onto her lap. Adam shot out a hand, grabbing her around the shoulder and pulling her to him. He put his arm over her head to protect her and turned around to see where the object had been thrown from. Seconds later there was a huge thud on the roof and the whole car shook. Still holding on to Fay with one arm, he slotted the key into the ignition and started up the car. There was another loud crack behind them and the back window smashed, at which point he slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped away. A final thud could be heard from the roof and Fay sat up then, looking behind her to see a man fly off the car and land on the road. They belted down the highway and she brushed the pieces of glass off her lap.

"Be careful, Fay are you alright?" he asked with concern. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

After about twenty minutes Adam spotted a taverna which was set slightly off the main road so he turned the car and pulled up into the driveway.

"Come on, I could do with a drink. Here get out of this side sweetheart or you'll cut yourself on the glass," he said, holding out his hand to help her over.

They walked across the driveway, and into the taverna. There was a very old looking couple sitting at a table, but apart from that the taverna seemed to be empty.

"Are you open?" Adam asked. The old man gave them a look of miscomprehension but got up and went over to a nearby counter top, picking up a jug of something and motioning for them to sit. He placed the jug on the table and went to get two glasses. Fay looked into the jug and saw that it was filled with red wine.

"Looks like we're getting wine to drink then," she said with a small, shaky laugh.

"That'll do," he said, filling their glasses and then turning to her anxiously.

"Fay, are you all right?" he asked again.

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him.

He studied her as she picked the wine glass up with a shaky hand. She wasn't fine at all, she was fighting back the tears and he knew it. Her eyes shimmered with emotion but flicked away from his awkwardly a few times as if she were uncomfortable with him seeing her inner feelings displayed so openly. Her determination to remain strong however only tugged at his heartstrings further because if there was one thing he'd learnt about her, it was that, for some reason he'd yet to fathom out, she fiercely guarded her ability to stay in control. He wanted to be her strength then, he wanted her to trust him with that. He felt suddenly closer to her and naturally yearned to make that closeness physical. He hesitated though, unsure of what her reaction would be, but finally settled for reaching out across the table and taking her hand in his.

"What happened to you out there?" he asked softly, his eyes full of concern and feeling.

She swallowed in an attempt to stop the tears that were threatening. "Someone grabbed me." She breathed in deeply, finding it hard to continue and he stroked her hand with his thumb. It felt small and fragile in his, her skin smooth and soft. "I heard you shouting but I couldn't scream because he had his hand over my mouth," she finished weakly. Anger suddenly filled him as a mental picture appeared in his head.

He would find the bastards that did that and string them up!

"He thought you were my boyfriend and he said to tell you to mind your back or you'd end up with a bullet in it. But Adam, he knew your name."

He frowned then. "Could he have heard us talking?"

"I don't think so, he seemed to be wanting to get at you personally," she explained.

He looked bewildered. "Look Fay, I don't know anyone here. I only arrived last week."

"How did he know you then?" she asked.

"I've absolutely no idea?"

He'd put her in danger and he didn't even damn well know why!

He had the strongest urge then to take her in his arms and never let anyone come near her again. Why he felt like that he didn't know, he barely knew this woman and his instincts told him that she'd reject his closeness. She'd been doing that all day.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked hesitantly. She shook her head but then looked down as to her horror she realized that she wasn't going to be able to hold back the tears in her eyes. He held onto her hand, fighting back the urge to bridge the gap between them. She hung her head as the tears began to fall and that broke his resolve.

Ah to hell with this!

He stood up abruptly and pulled her out of her chair suddenly towards him, putting his arms around her and holding her closely. He anticipated the rejection, her pushing him away, but to his surprise she leant into him and rested her head on his shoulder as she sobbed. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, she felt fragile and soft against him and he could feel her trembling as she cried.

There was more to this woman than he'd imagined and this small change in her attitude towards him, her allowing this brief but significant physical contact between them, made him impatient for more. He couldn't figure out how or why but within the space of just one day he'd found some kind of intangible connection with her. He looked down at her and lifted one hand to place it gently on her head.

"It's okay now sweetheart, you're safe now," he whispered, stroking her hair.
Chapter 9 - A Night Out

Later that evening


The shrill sound of the telephone reverberated around the dark room and cut into Fay's sub-consciousness. She sat up abruptly in the darkness and struggled for a few moments to clear her head. Realising what was causing the noise, she reached out blindly towards her bedside table, her eyes still closed. Her hand hovered over the items on the tabletop, seeking the telephone handset among the cosmetics, lotions, perfumes, and the glass of water she had placed there before she had gone to bed. Barely preventing the glass from spilling its contents, she eventually found the telephone and punched the button with her forefinger in desperation to stop its grating noise.

"Hello," she managed to mutter in a muffled voice.

"Fay, it's Adam."

Her eyes flew open then and she reached out to flick the switch next to her bed, flooding the room with light. It was unclear at that point which was more startling to her, the sudden brilliance radiating from the light bulb overhead or the sound of Adam's voice on the other end of the telephone.

"Adam! What on earth are you doing phoning me at this time of night?" she asked.

"I know, I realise that it's late but there was nobody else I could call. I need a lift home," he informed her.

A frown crossed her face and was quickly accompanied with a look of outrage.

"What! You wake me up at this time to..."

He cut into her outburst and stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I'm in jail Fay, I'll explain when you get here."


Earlier that afternoon


Fay and Adam drove back to Agios Nikolaos in companionable silence, both running the events of the day through their minds. He pulled up outside her apartment and turned off the engine.

"I'll get to the bottom of this you know, I hope it hasn't put you off working with me because I'd really like you to continue."

She sighed. "No, it hasn't put me off."

He smiled. "Good."

She looked out of the window at her apartment. "Oh no, I promised I'd go to The Wheelhouse tonight with Sal."

"Hey, there's no sense in staying in and dwelling on what happened, it could do you good to get out," he smiled.

"Yes well, I don't think I'm going to have much choice in the matter," she chuckled.

Adam was relieved to see that Fay looked considerably better than she had an hour ago. Now at least she had some colour in her cheeks.

"I'll have to get my car sorted out tomorrow and I'll go to the police station too but I'll phone you and if you can pop into the office we can discuss the paperwork. I'll pay you for your time of course."

"Okay, that's fine," she nodded. There was a silence then and his eyes flitted over her face. She gazed back at him and their eyes locked. She suddenly realised that she was holding her breath and she looked down with a small laugh.

"Err, I need to get out that side."

"Oh yeah, of course," he said, getting out of the car and leaning over to help her. She took his hand and he pulled her across and then up towards him, using a little more force than was necessary so that they were inches apart by the time she was out. She avoided eye contact with him, not daring to look into his face. He looked down at her intently and slowly moved his hands to her waist.

Move, she should move now!

She could feel his fingers softly stroking her lower back through the material of the t-shirt she was wearing.

Should he try to kiss her? Probably not a good idea. Damn but he really wanted to kiss her right then.

She turned around suddenly. "My jumper, I almost forgot," she said reaching back into the car for it. When she looked up at him to say goodbye he was grinning at her as a picture of her taking it off flashed through his mind. She gave him a wry smile, said goodbye and made for